The Deputy Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and the Member of Parliament for Nabdam, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane has expressed concerns that the Ghana Health Service may fail to meet its target of vaccinating at least 20 million Ghanaians by the end of the year to help the country achieve herd immunity.
Dr. Nawaane explained that the government’s efforts towards educating the public on the need to get vaccinated, the types of vaccines available and the centres where the vaccines are available are inadequate. For this reason, a good part of the population holds reservations and misconceptions about the vaccines available in the country.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East, the MP for Nabdam encourage government to use traditional media platforms to engage the public, draw their attention to the need to get vaccinated and the benefits of vaccinations particularly as the world currently deals with the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
“I am sorry to say that we might not be able to meet the target. Again what is coming in [the vaccines] is not nearly enough. We are still very far away from the 20 million doses of vaccines that we need. Therefore, any restriction on movement because the person is not vaccinated may be problematic. We need to tread cautiously and make sure that we do not cause any social havoc”.
“We should use the civic education unit; the press to advertise for them on television and radio. I believe that people will come out to vaccinate,” he explained.
Touching on the presence of the Omicron variant in the country, Dr. Nawaane some 34 people had been infected with the variant of the vaccine in the country. He added that it worthy to note that persons who have been vaccinated fully are not nearly as susceptible to dying from the virus as others who have not been vaccinated at all. He commended government for implementing the international travel regulations on the COVID-19 at the International Airport.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1 MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
